Chapter 11: I Swear in Hestia-sama's Name!
"Voom——"
The entirely pitch-black, nameless longsword cut through the air, emitting a deep metallic hum.
The cold, sharp blade slid across the necks of several men, followed immediately by the appearance of faint lines of blood.
Because the main arteries were completely avoided, the bleeding from the wounds wasn't excessive, just a continuous hissing sound of air leaking from their throats.
Only when these men clutched the wounds on their necks, their faces contorted in pain as they fell to the ground, did Luke slowly withdraw the longsword in his hand.
From drawing the sword to sheathing it, in two days, he had repeated this set of actions thousands of times, so it was completed quite smoothly, without any hesitation.
Sheathing the blade again, Luke looked coldly at the men collapsed on the ground, his heart unexpectedly calm.
Undoubtedly, this was his first time killing people, and he hadn't relied on anyone else from start to finish.
Logically, he should have felt significant discomfort, like nausea or wanting to vomit... but in reality, Luke felt no discomfort at all.
Seeing the several corpses before him gradually turning cold, his expression didn't even waver, as if he had just casually killed a few Goblins in the Dungeon.
Although it had only been three short days since he arrived in this labyrinth city, he had already become accustomed to killing, accustomed to the blood spraying from opponents after swinging his sword.
To him, killing people wasn't much different from killing monsters.
The only difference was that, compared to the hideous and terrifying monsters, some people's hearts were even darker and uglier...
Standing behind Luke, watching him cleanly finish off the several men, Lili let out a soft sigh of relief, then said with a sincere face: "Thank you so much this time, Luke-sama."
"Thanks? No, no, no, you might have misunderstood something..."
Hearing Lili's words, Luke turned around and continued with a smile: "I'm not some hot-headed brat who likes to play justice games... Speaking of which, you don't think I stepped in because we partied together yesterday, intervening when I saw injustice, right?"
"I..."
Staring blankly at Luke's smiling face, Lili suddenly felt a bit flustered.
This guy, he completely ignores the usual script!
"Then why did Luke-sama come to save Lili?" After a moment of daze, Lili took a deep breath and said half-jokingly: "Could it be that Luke-sama has actually fallen for Lili?"
However, contrary to Lili's expectations, after hearing her joke, Luke actually nodded.
"That's not wrong, I suppose. Ever since partying with you in the Dungeon yesterday, I've been thinking about you all morning today."
All morning, thinking about me...?
Hey, hey, where is the guards?
There's a pervert here with improper intentions towards an underage girl!
Subconsciously taking half a step back, Lili tightened the robe around her body, simultaneously staring intently into Luke's dark eyes, her voice dry: "Luke-sama... You're just joking with Lili, right?"
"Of course, I'm not joking. I'm being super serious right now."
The resolute denial instantly shattered Lili's last shred of hope.
Then she heard Luke continue: "I'm a pragmatic and realistic member of society. I absolutely won't do anything without benefits. So, Lili, think about it, what do you have that's worth my scheming for?"
The plain words conveyed a sense of it being perfectly natural.
Lili was suddenly speechless.
Indeed, what did she have that was worth Luke's scheming for?
As a powerful adventurer, in a place like the labyrinth city Orario, there was almost nothing he couldn't obtain.
The respect of ordinary people, the awe of other adventurers, the privileges possessed by the strong...
If he wanted money, just entering the Dungeon and casually killing a dozen monsters would yield a considerable income.
So, is Luke strong?
That was a pointless question.
Lili still clearly remembered the scene of him, one man and one sword, turning the third floor of the Dungeon into a sea of blood.
And as a Pallum supporter, the only thing Lili seemed to have that was worth Luke's scheming for was...
What was that word again?
Lolicon?
It was said to be a term quite widespread among the Gods from Heaven, primarily used to describe males with a special interest in petite young girls or girls who had technically passed the stage of being a young girl but still had a childlike appearance.
What lolicon... that's just a pervert!
"N-No... Luke-sama... Lili is still young, this kind of thing is really too early for me, it's impossible to satisfy you..."
The cheeks hidden under the shadow of her hood flushed bright red.
Lili wrapped her arms around her chest, retreating several steps, her voice trembling with terror.
"It's fine if you're small, I don't mind."
Watching the retreating Lili, Luke recalled the bountiful harvest from the Dungeon yesterday, a satisfied smile appearing on his face as he continued: "And I fully believe that Lili can definitely satisfy my needs."
You don't need to believe in me that much for this kind of thing!
In Lili's eyes, Luke at this moment seemed to have grown a pair of small black horns on his head, with a long, thin tail swaying behind him.
Especially that wicked smile full of desire on his face, it made Lili's vision blur.
"I... I originally thought that although Luke-sama looks fierce, he was actually a good person, different from those who bully Lili..."
"Good person?"
Pointing a finger at himself, Luke then turned sideways, pointing at the several corpses on the ground that had completely cooled, and said amusedly: "Go ask them, am I a good person?"
"I see..."
Lili's gaze towards Luke turned cold and distant, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
There was never any good person, the salvation she hoped for was just her own wishful thinking...
Must... must she just yield like this?
The intense sorrow after her hope was shattered struck Lili's chest like a heavy blow, instantly causing moist mist to swirl in her eyes.
"Plip—"
A teardrop fell to the ground, making a crisp, tiny sound.
Hearing this sound, the smile on Luke's face vanished.
"Hey, Lili, do you dislike me that much? At least I just saved you once, even out of gratitude, you should agree, right?"
"Clearly having absolute advantage in strength, yet still pretending to play the hero saving the damsel, trying to use both kindness and coercion... As expected of Luke-sama, your methods are truly brilliant."
Giving Luke a cold glance, Lili sneered: "Just make your move if you want to. But Lili's body isn't as wonderful as you imagine, it's barren and small, don't let it hurt you later."
Although the thought of choosing death over submission flashed through her mind for an instant, Lili ultimately chose to endure.
The life of a Pallum supporter was insignificant, even her existence wouldn't be remembered by anyone.
To die meaninglessly like this, she was unwilling!
Live...
As long as she continued to live, she would sooner or later find an opportunity to reclaim the humiliation suffered today, with interest!
However, just as Lili prepared herself, closing her eyes ready to be violated, she heard Luke's voice.
"Um, Lili, I think you might have misunderstood again..."
Looking speechlessly at Lili, who had her eyes tightly shut and was trembling like a hamster, he finally figured out why she was reacting so strongly.
This was a complete misunderstanding!
"Misunderstanding?"
"A huge misunderstanding..."
Meeting the Pallum girl's puzzled gaze, Luke said helplessly: "I just wanted you to join my adventurer party, specifically to help me pick up monster drops and Magic Stones... Actually, this morning I took a junior from my Familia into the Dungeon again, but didn't harvest many Magic Stones, so I really missed partying with you yesterday."
"Eh..."
Luke's tone was sincere, his eyes clear, not looking like he was lying at all.
Moreover, with his absolute overwhelming advantage in strength, Luke had no need to lie to the vulnerable Lili.
Which means... she really misunderstood?
"—Eh?!!"
Almost at the moment of understanding, a burning hot sensation began to spread over Lili's body.
Without needing a mirror, she knew her face must be as red as if it were about to bleed.
The intense shame made her so embarrassed she wished she could disappear immediately!
"Well then, let me ask again properly."
Not in the mood to tease this somewhat complex-minded Pallum supporter, Luke sighed softly and asked: "Lili, may I ask you to become my supporter?"
"Of course, you ca—"
Halfway through agreeing, Lili suddenly stopped.
Originally, for her, becoming anyone's supporter didn't matter.
She had always been moving between various adventurer parties, going wherever a supporter was needed.
But thinking about the misunderstanding just now, the words of agreement that had already reached her lips were, by some trick of fate, swallowed back down.
To put it simply, Lili, feeling embarrassed after making a fool of herself, was now sulking.
"Although I don't know your specific Level, with Luke-sama's strength, finding a supporter must be very easy, right? Why insist on finding Lili?"
Tilting her head slightly, Lili's sulky voice came from under her hood: "Being so persistent with a little girl... You're actually a perverted lolicon, aren't you?"
...So where exactly did you get the idea that I was being persistent?
And did lolicons offend you?
Why add 'perverted' as a prefix?
Hearing Lili's somewhat unreasonable words, Luke shook his head helplessly.
Although her thinking in various aspects was much more mature than Bell's, she was still, like that white-haired brat, just a child.
And Luke, being an adult, naturally wouldn't excessively argue with a sulking little girl.
He just asked with a helpless expression: "What do I have to do to prove I'm not a lolicon?"
"A perverted lolicon!" Hearing Luke's words, Lili immediately corrected him.
"Alright, alright, perverted lolicon..."
Mentally apologizing to all the great lolicon gentlemen under the heavens, Luke continued to ask: "How can I prove I'm not a perverted lolicon?"
"There's no way to prove it, because it's the truth!"
"..."
For a fleeting moment, Luke suddenly felt a strong urge to spank this brat's bottom.
Sulking should have its limits, right?
I've already yielded so much to you, why are you getting even more out of line?
But he ultimately controlled himself with the good self-restraint of an adult, forcing a smile onto his face, and said in a gentle voice as if coaxing a child: "Well then, how about this..."
As he spoke, he walked a few steps closer to Lili, then raised his right hand in front of her, extending his pinky finger.
"...What does this mean?"
Seeing Luke's gesture, Lili asked doubtfully: "Is it some new insulting hand gesture?"
Among the cultures brought to the mortal world by the Gods from Heaven, there was a gesture of raising the middle finger, which could be used to express contempt and disdain.
"Of course... not."
The smile on his face twitched slightly. Luke explained: "This is a contract ritual from my hometown. Once both parties make an agreement in this ritual, it absolutely cannot be changed... Give me your right hand for a moment."
"Is it really that magical..."
Although her words expressed doubt, Lili still extended her right hand as Luke said.
From under the wide robe sleeve, a section of fair arm with a pinkish hue was revealed, and then its pinky finger was hooked by another large hand.
Originally, according to the complete process of a pinky swear, the next part should be chanting "Pinky swear, hang yourself if you lie, won't change for a hundred years," but Luke felt that was a bit too embarrassing, so he modified the latter part of the incantation according to Orario's local customs.
"I swear in Hestia-sama's name..."
Looking directly into Lili's eyes hidden under the hood, Luke's serious oath echoed in the dim alley.
"I, Luke, am absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not a perverted lolicon, and I will never do anything bad to a little girl like Lili without permission!"
When Lili first heard Luke swear by Hestia-sama's name, she thought things were getting serious.
But when he revealed the oath's contents, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"What's this? Using your goddess's name for something like this... I'll report to Hestia-sama, you know?"
"Even if you do, she wouldn't scold me."
Luke shook his head and spread his palm before her.
"Lili, will you agree now?"
"...Hmph. This is only for Hestia-sama's sake."
Her lips curling upward, Lili reached out to high-five him.
Slap!
When their palms met - one large and one small - she suddenly felt her heartbeat skip, face growing warm.
"Done."
Unaware of her strange reaction, he nodded satisfied.
He kicked aside corpses blocking the path and headed out of the alley.
"Let's go to the 4th floor this afternoon. I'm tired of killing the same monsters on 3rd..."
Only when his back nearly disappeared down the alley did she snap awake.
Glancing at the dead men's wide-eyed faces, she hurriedly secured the money pouch and chased after him.
[Ask them if I'm a good person]
Did that even need asking?
Though he killed without blinking and always looked fierce...
This incredibly strong man who never bullied the weak - Luke-sama was definitely a good person!
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